CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Dollar General is the overall basket price leader, delivering a substantial savings to value shoppers, according to Kantar Retail’s second annual opening price point survey. Walgreens, for the second year, had the most expensive total basket, driven by sharply higher edible and nonedible grocery baskets.

The Kantar survey measures how selected retailers are meeting the cross-category needs of the low-income shopper who is seeking the lowest prices to fulfill basket requirements. Kantar selected twenty categories across the edible grocery, nonedible grocery, and health and beauty aids (HBA) segments. The study was expanded this year to include Dollar General, along with the same six retailers surveyed in 2011, including Walmart, Stop & Shop, Family Dollar, Aldi, Target and Walgreens. Retailers included in the survey are located in northeastern United States.

The study found that among them, Dollar General offered an 18% overall basket savings, driven by lower OPPs in its edible and nonedible baskets, representing a substantial savings to the value shopper. Meanwhile, Walmart offered the second-cheapest overall basket, though 18% higher than the OPP basket at Dollar General.

"Dollar General’s basket price leadership at the OPP level is impressive," said Leon Nicholas, Kantar Retail SVP and contributor to the study. "Though Walmart had a less expensive HBA basket, the retailer’s assertion of overall basket price leadership to the value-focused shopper on an everyday basis was not established by our study."

According to Nicholas, the results of the study suggest that temporary price cuts to create the perception of a price advantage, will not win the battle for the value shopper’s dollar. Instead, aggressive, everyday pricing across categories will be a requirement to overtake Dollar General’s advantage at the opening price point, he said.

To receive a copy of the Kantar Retail study, contact Katherine Clarke at [email protected].

Deloitte: CPG companies not keeping up with explosive growth of dollar channel

NEW YORK — Only 58% of consumer packaged goods executives view dollar stores as a strategic channel, according to Deloitte’s new "Dollar Store Strategies for National Brands" study. Deloitte advises that CPG companies may not be keeping pace with the explosive growth of the $56 billion dollar store industry, and should act now to maximize market share and profits.

In other survey highlights:

Three-quarters (75%) of CPG executives surveyed expect dollar stores to continue to expand their geographic presence, and 62% forecast sales at their company’s dollar channel to increase in the next three years; and

Only half (51%) of all CPG executives surveyed believe their companies have increased investment in sales capabilities related to the dollar channel over the last three years.

The top five operational challenges CPG companies surveyed face while dealing with the dollar channel include:

FDA regulation of mobile health apps: A prescription for growth?

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT — What if Moore’s law — meaning the number of transistors per square inch on integrated circuits would double every two years — applied to healthcare applications? That actually was all the talk earlier this year at the TedMed conference, at least according to a blog written by Dave Copeland, a well-vetted business and technology journalist. One of the disincentives to the kind of robust healthcare app development that would exemplify Moore’s law expressed by TedMed attendees was regulation, as in the lack of regulation would "discourage risk-taking and innovation."

(THE NEWS: Kaiser Health News: Legislation to be introduced to create new FDA office overseeing mobile health apps. For the full story, click here.)

So creating a new Food and Drug Administration division to regulate the development of mobile health apps might become the big boon in what has already become a big business.

The actual devices that will house those mobile health apps is increasing in penetration across all demographics. As of September 2012, 45% of American adults have a smartphone, according to statistics culled from Pew Internet and American Life Project. And half of U.S. adult cell phone owners now have apps on their phones.

According to Pew’s research, smartphones are particularly popular with young adults and those living in relatively higher income households; 66% of those ages 18 to 29 years own smartphones, and 68% of those living in households earning $75,000 also own them. And young adults tend to have higher-than-average levels of smartphone ownership regardless of income or educational attainment.

The future of how health care is delivered or monitored could be on the drawing board of an app developer even today. What do you think? How do you think an FDA commitment to regulating mobile health apps would impact the industry? Drop me a line at [email protected].

Pulitzer Prize-winner Peggy Noonan, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and singer Diana Ross now feature on the schedule for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores Annual Meeting, slated for April 21-24 in Palm Beach, Fla.

Forgotten Password

Registration complete

REGISTER

USERNAME *

Spaces are allowed; punctuation is not allowed except for periods, hyphens, and underscores.

E-MAIL ADDRESS *

A valid e-mail address. All e-mails from the system will be sent to this address. The e-mail address is not made public and will only be used if you wish to receive a new password or wish to receive certain news or notifications by e-mail.

Password *

Confirm Password *

Please choose a password for your account; it must be 8 - 30 characters. .

First Name *

Last Name *

Company Name *

Job Title *

ZIP *

Are you a *

Retailer or Healthcare professional

Non-Retailer

How many stores do you operate?: *

Which best describes the business/industry you work in?: *

Which best describes your job title?: *

Please select the newsletters you would like to subscribe to

DSN A.M.
Daily news stories covering the retail drug industry

Breaking News
First-to-the-market with developing stories in the industry